'Mamata should step down,' says BJP

The face-off between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor KN Tripathi, which began after Banerjee alleged that Tripathi had threatened her over the phone, intensified on Wednesday, with a battery of senior TMC leaders firing multiple salvos at Tripathi.

State Education Minister Dr Partha Chatterjee, at a press conference on Wednesday, reiterated what the CM had said, only in stronger words. "The Governor's house has changed into a BJP party office. The Governor has overstepped and behaved like a party cadre talking in derogatory terms with the CM," Chatterjee said.

A fresh statement issued on Wednesday from the Governor's House said, "The allegations of the Chief Minister amount to insulting and humiliating the Governor and his Office." It also said that the Governor can be approached by citizens to seek redressal. It is wrong to say that the Raj Bhavan has become the office of the BJP or the RSS. "Her allegation is baseless and is only meant to emotionally blackmail the people of West Bengal," the statement said.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh demanded a President's Rule at the press conference. "The TMC government has proved its inefficiency in all sectors. We will write to the Union Home Ministry for the imposition of President's rule. The CM should step down," he said.

Meanwhile, in Baduria area of North 24 Parganas, where violence erupted on Monday following an 'obejctionable' post on Facebook, the situation was comparatively peaceful after forces were deployed. However, areas on the outskirts of Basirhat saw fresh cases of violence.